Sign in toAL.com

Alabama

Change Region

comments

50 seasons of Southern League baseball: Best third baseman (poll)

evan longoria.jpg

Montgomery third baseman Evan Longoria comes down with a high throw as Ronnie Merrill of the Mobile BayBears slides in safely during a Southern League game on July 6, 2007 at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Press-Register file)

The Southern League is playing its 50th season in 2013, preparing players for the big leagues as it has for half a century. Who knows? There could be a future Hall of Famer playing in the Southern League right now.

Five Hall of Famers - so far - have passed through the Southern League on their way to baseball immortality. Have they been the biggest stars of the circuit's 50 seasons?

It depends on how you look at it.

View full sizeRyan Braun mans third base for the Huntsville Stars during a Southern League game on Aug. 2, 2006. (Huntsville Times file)

Players performing exceptionally well often find themselves earning quick promotions to Triple-A or even to the big leagues from the Southern League. So should a team of the best players in the Southern League's 50 seasons be composed of those who enjoyed the league's brightest seasons or those who merely used the league as a springboard to greatness in the Major Leagues? How about both?

AL.com is presenting a series of polls that will allow baseball fans to vote for their favorites from the Southern League's 50 Double-A seasons. The players on the ballots are a mixture of Southern League record-breakers and MLB All-Stars, even five Hall of Famers.

The voting continues today with 10 choices at third base. Players have been nominated at the position they played in the Southern League.

View full sizeMike Coolbaugh takes a cut for the Huntsville Stars during a Southern League game on May 6, 1997. (Huntsville Times file)

The third basemen, with their Southern League performances and Major League Baseball highlights, are:

Sal Bando, Mobile A's, 1966: Bando hit .277 with 12 homers and 50 RBIs in 119 games in the Oakland system's only season in the Port City. MLB: The four-time All-Star played on three World Series winners with the Oakland A's.

Ryan Braun, Huntsville Stars, 2006: One year before he led the National League in slugging percentage, Braun played 59 games for the Stars until leaving for Triple-A Nashville. He hit .303 with 15 homers and 40 RBIs. MLB: Already a five-time All-Star, Braun, now an outfielder with the Milwaukee Brewers, won the National League MVP award in 2011.

Miguel Cabrera, Carolina Mudcats, 2003: In his final minor league stop, Cabrera batted.365 with a .609 slugging percentage, hitting 29 doubles, three triples and 10 home runs with 59 RBIs in 69 games before being called up to the Florida Marlins. MLB: The eight-time All-Star won the American League Triple Crown in 2012 with the Detroit Tigers.

Mike Coolbaugh, Knoxville Smokies, 1995; Huntsville Stars, 1997: After hitting .240 for Knoxville, Coolbaugh got traded from Toronto to Texas. After a season in Single-A, he came back to the Southern League to lead the league with 132 RBIs while scoring 100 runs, hitting 30 homers and batting .308. MLB: Coolbaugh played in 44 games in two seasons, hitting .183. He died in 2007 after being hit in the head by a line drive while coaching first base for the Tulsa Drillers.

Evan Longoria, Montgomery Biscuits, 2006-07: After 26 games at Montgomery in 2006, Longoria returned in 2007 to hit .307 with 78 runs, 21 homers and 76 RBIs in 105 games before leaving for Durham, good enough to be the league's MVP. MLB: The three-time All-Star has been the Tampa Bay Rays third baseman since winning the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year Award.

Edgar Martinez, Chattanooga Lookouts, 1985-86: In two seasons, Martinez hit .261 with 44 doubles and 121 RBIs in 243 games. MLB: The seven-time All-Star turned into one of the American League's best designated hitters, winning two batting titles while hitting 309 homers with 1,261 RBIs over 18 seasons with Seattle.

Mark McGwire, Huntsville Stars, 1986: Big Mac hit .303 with 10 homers and 53 RBIs in 55 games in Huntsville before being promoted to Tacoma. MLB: The 12-time All-Star at first base hit 583 homers in a 16-year career, including 70 in 1998 and 65 in 1999.

Graig Nettles, Charlotte Hornets, 1967: Nettles hit just .232, but he led the league with 19 home runs and finished second in runs and RBIs. MLB: Puff was a six-time All-Star who played in five World Series and hit 390 homers in 2,700 games.

Cal Ripken Jr., Charlotte O's, 1979-80: In his full Southern League season, Ripken hit .276 with 91 runs, 28 doubles, 25 homers and 78 RBIs in 1980. MLB: Baseball's Iron Man was a 17-time All-Star (14 at shortstop, three at third base) for the Baltimore Orioles, winning the American League MVP Award in 1983 and 1991 on the way to the Hall of Fame.

Tim Wallach, Memphis Chicks, 1979: The Cal State Fullerton star started his pro career with 79 games for Memphis, hitting .327 with 18 homers, 51 RBIs and a .630 slugging percentage. MLB: A five-time All-Star for the Montreal Expos, Wallach had 260 homers and 1,125 RBIs in 2,212 games.